GraphicsVexx does its best to dazzle you with pretty backdrops and dusk-to-dawn effects, but it's all just an attempt to divert your eyes from some ugly bumps in the visual road. The vistas are attractive and the worlds have a life to them that is often lost in platformers these days. Everything you see can be reached in each of the massive worlds. But those big worlds come at a cost. Yes, you can reach anything you can see, but you often will miss a lot of things until you get relatively close due to the game's poor draw distance for enemies and environmental objects. You can actually see the textures drawing themselves as you walk along. And, unfortunately, the framerate problems seen in earlier versions of the game have not been completely wiped out. Though the game will hit 60 fps in some lower poly areas, it will really chug in others.

Vexx must be allergic to transparency, because whenver that effect comes into play (too often to be disregarded) the game drops quite a few frames. There are other sluggish moments as well, but the majority of gameplay is not hampered by slowdown, so it becomes more a cosmetic issue than one of gameplay. And, well, cosmetically, Vexx isn't an eyesore but we've seen better on the PS2.

Vexx moves fine and the creatures on the various worlds look decent, but there is far too little variation in the designs, and the animations are also a little lacking Overall, at a general glance, this ain't a bad looking game at all. But it's the numerous small details that peck away at an otherwise decent-looking title. On a plus note, Vexx does support progressive scan, which should add a bit more clarity to the big worlds in the game.

Sound Vexx is a boy of few words. And this is a game of few sounds. The effects never seem to vary, with the different Vexx attacks all keeping the same sound and each enemy offering repetitive grunts of pain. The voice-acting, what little exists, is middle-of-the-road. The score, however, offers a decent mix of whimsical tunes and action-paced diddies, but feels a bit limited, and after 20 hours, there's only so much you can listen to before wishing there was some new sound around the corner. At least the game supports Dolby Pro Logic II.

Vexx

Play a furious wolf-boy out to avenge his grandfather's death and save his people in this lush action-platformer.

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The Verdict

The true strength of Vexx is in the patforming and puzzle elements. The game is good and a lot of fun, but misses out on greatness simply because there wasn't enough thought or daring put into the design. It's challenging at times, but the game is a bit unfocused. Still, the puzzle elements are a pleasure and the gameplay mechanics are simple and somewhat addictive. There are lots of little faults to Vexx but it's a good game, if not a great one.

Platform fans hungry for a run at another big adventure should check out Vexx, but don't expect a revolutionary experience. It's a long game and some may not be compelled to finish it, but it's a good experience, especially if you enjoy hopping from platform to platform.